Congratulations to Yunxi Teng (Year 11), who was selected from well over one hundred applications to participate in the Semester 1 SPARQ-ed Research Immersion program.
SPARQ-ed is a unique educational facility established in collaboration between the Department of Education and The University of Queensland which provides school students a practical introduction to biomedical research.
Yunxi participating in the SPARQ-ed program at The University of Queensland
Yunxi, who studies both Biology and Chemistry at State High, provided an overview of her experience:
“I was fortunate enough to be one of 14 selected candidates to participate in the Semester 1 SPARQ-ed Research Immersion Program from Monday 12 – Friday 16 April 2021. In this program, we conducted advanced research in a world-class laboratory with research scientists at the Translational Research Institute. I had the pleasure of working with Dr Jay Gunawardana and Dr Karolina Bednarska from the Blood Cancer Research Group at the Mater Research Institute at UQ.
The project is titled 'Lymphoma Immunotherapy: Targeting anti-tumour effects of T cells'. Over the five days, we investigated a potential method to counteract an immune system evasion mechanism employed by Hodgkin Lymphoma cancer cells, involving procedures such as cell counting, RNA extraction, qRT-PCR, flow cytometry and luciferase reporter assay. Overall, this opportunity was an amazing eye-opener that fuelled my passion for Biology and Chemistry. Furthermore, I met amazing and inspiring people along the way, making it a truly unforgettable experience."